The evangelical mind has become a closed loop. It has evolved into a ‘Second Life’, a vivid, exotic alternative reality, with its own intrinsic plausibility and coherence but only an approximate and in many respects spurious relationship to the real world. The emerging church, therefore, stands for a deconstruction of this alternative virtual reality and…
Read MoreEmergent Blogging Nomadic Couch Surfing Apostles
I told you I was speaking at Cornerstone this year. Check out the name Cornerstone Festival has given for my 3 seminar sessions. Here’s how it looks on their website: ———————————————- Emergent Blogging Nomadic Couch Surfing Apostles Andrew Jones (3 Sessions) The Tall Skinny Kiwi offers a travelogue of places and people on the road…
Read MoreWhat would you do with the Crystal Cathedral?
The Crystal Cathedral is up for sale and I just heard that someone bought it for $46 million. Dang! Maybe some emerging church out there should have bought the 40 acre campus and recycled it into something useful. Although if Randall Balmer is correct in saying that passing on a huge unsustainable megachurch is a…
Read MoreI need books on emerging blogging nomadic couch surfing apostles
I need you to recommend some books for me. The creative people at Cornerstone Festival have taken my three seminars and given them a single title. THANKS! I have asked them to change the “emergent” word, which I try to avoid, but that’s fine if they want to use it. Here’s how the seminar looks on their website: Emergent…
Read MoreTop 200 Church Blogs. Do reformed nerds really rule?
Church blog rankings have one purpose and one purpose only: To allow the reformed bloggers to ridicule the emerging church bloggers. If there was another purpose, it would be for all of us church bloggers to stroke our tender blog-egos. Kent Shafer just released his Top 200 church blogs and it seems the Reformed bloggers…
Read MorePraxis: Training for an Emerging Postmodern Paradigm of Mission
We came to Ngatiawa Contemplative Monastery, here near Waikanae, New Zealand, for PassionFest and liked the people so much that we stayed. Its been a week now and we are having a great time. Justin and Jenny Duckworth are the main conspirators. They let me putter around in the kitchen and hassle the heaps of…
Read MoreThe emerging church and their stupid, silly names!
Some classic quotes on the emerging church from Stephen Holland of Westhoughton Evangelical Church from the sermon "The Emerging Church – The Latest Heresy" "They all have strange names! They don't have, you know, Emergent Evangelical Church or Emergent Church. They have stupid, silly names!" This is true. You wouldn't believe the names I have…
Read MoreDavid Fitch on Emerging Church Dangers
I just downloaded all 3 of David Fitch’s posts on the emerging church and hope to read them when I get a mo. He attempts to add warning and correction to the thoughts of Alan Hirsch and Mike Frost, Peter Rollins and Brian McLaren. Nice to see some well thought out critiques. I look forward…
Read MoreEmerging Church Jello Begins its Wobbly Descent
Soooooo the emerging church jello plastered on the walls of historical memory by uninformed critics finally begins its slow, wobbly descent, revealing that not all that was said about emerging church leaders was accurate . . . as I have been saying for a LONG TIME. Here's some quotes you might appreciate: "I don’t attend…
Read MoreEmerging Church Retreat?
Kester asked me to read his post yesterday called Has What Emerged Retreated? Returning to the Institutions, and give some comment.
Read MoreEmerging church event of the year
Today is the day I have been mentioning for a while. Encontro Global is the grandest emerging church event on the calender this year and it starts today in Uberlandia, Brazil. Sorry I cant be there everyone!!!! But I will be praying for you all today. Great to see how this movement, which goes by…
Read MoreThinking about Begbie’s critique on emerging church
What a delightful talk. I blogged a few days ago on Dr. Jeremy Begbie's talk at Wheaton regarding N.T. Wright and the emerging church. Deeply respectful and honoring. In fact, I have given some thought to the three Wrightian themes that Begbie believes emerging church leaders would do well to pay attention to: 1. ASCENSION.…
Read MoreChuck Swindoll on the emerging church
I just left a comment on Chuck Swindoll’s blog. Dang! I didn’t know he even had a blog until now. Its called Insight for Living, like his ministry. The man is a LEGEND and I have read so many of his books its ridiculous. He was also my pastor in the 80’s and my wife…
Read MoreWhats happening in the church, NOW?
My comments on today’s World Mag article on the death of the Emerging Church. Firstly, I didn’t kill it. Really. I was framed. Secondly, Anthony Bradley does a great job on the article and is reeling in a ton of comments. Well done! Although the comments do seem to degenerate into a little group of…
Read MoreA white guy and a black guy in the emerging church
Here’s a story about the emerging church if anyone cares to listen. Just one of many stories. Its not a very popular one because it doesn’t include any famous speakers or horrible heretics or ten ways to transition your church into coolness. There are also no images and no links but you might appreciate it…
Read MoreWhites Only 1: Listening to the criticism
Sojo Mag published an article today that you probably heard was a’comin’. You can buy it here. The article is called “Is the ‘Emerging Church’ for Whites Only?” Brilliant graphic, btw, and something that was intended to be a little funny and not too serious – so dont any of you white people take offense.…
Read MoreSouthwestern on Emerging Church
Listening to a recent chapel series at Southwestern Seminary where they tackle emerging church. The Grindstone – Ministry and Culture: a Discussion on the Emerging Church (Part 1) [Listen] (Part 2) [Listen] The Grindstone – Christianity and Culture: emerging, emergent, or what? (Part 1) [Listen] (Part 2) [Listen] My notes. Good to see them tackle this subject. Contextualization is…
Read MoreRemembering Michael Spencer, Internet Monk (1956 – 2010)
The blogosphere feels much emptier today with the sudden passing of Michael Spencer who you probably know as Internet Monk. He told us about his cancer but it was still really quick. Way too quick. I didn’t get to insult him one last time. HT: Christianity Today LiveBlog I often posted links to the blogged…
Read MoreCutting John Piper some slack on the emerging church
I was a little harsh on John Piper and his comments on the emerging church and the timing was bad. I posted a response 2 days before he announced his ministry break, and a week before the Desiring God conference. Not cool. He deserves better. My apologies, from one Baptist to another. And on top…
Read MoreJohn Piper and an ‘upper-middle-class’ emerging church
UPDATE: John Piper announced his time off from ministry 2 days after this post. Bad timing on my part. See my follow-up post also – Cutting John Piper some slack on the emerging church. ORIGINAL: John Piper is a well respected pastor and teacher so his words on the emerging church this week are creating…
Read More